Shooting-gallery.



PATENTED APR. 21, 1908.

G. E. MORRIS.

" SHOOTING GALLERY.

APILIOATION FILED 00111, 1906.

V 3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

No. 885,358. O. E. MORRIS.

SHOOTING GALLERY.

APPLICATION TILED 001'.11,19oa.

PATENTED APR. 21, 1908.

s sums-sum sl UNITED STATES rarENT OFFICE.

OHARLESE. MORRIS, OF LANE, KANSAS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO THOMAS D. MORROW,

or LANE, KANSAS.

' SHOOTING-GALLERY..

Specification of Letters Patent Patented April 21, 1908.

Application filed October 11 1906: Serial No. 338,485.v

Galleries, of which the following is a speci1.

cation.

This invention relates to shootin galleries and particularly those of a type w ich may be controlled by check-controlled mechanism so as to require little attention from an attendant. I

The main objects of this invention are to provide a shooting gallery in which a gun is mounted in a suitable manner to permit a customer to shift it within certain limits for aiming andfiring it, and at the same time prevent the operation of the gun until after a coin of a certain denomination has been placed into a certain coin-receiving device; to provide improved locking means for preventin' the firing of the un and adapted to be app ied to a gun wit out materially increasing its bulk or the facility with which a gun may be aimed and fired to provide an improved check-controlled mechanism adapt-- ed to be placed at a distance from the gun and ada ted'upon the deposit of a coin therein to de iver a cartridge to the customer and at the same time release the firing mechanism of the gun so as to permit thegun to be freely loaded and fired; and to rovide selfsetting means for the locking evice which will automatically lock the-gun-immediately after it is fired. lhese objects'are accomplished by the device shown in the-accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a rifle range provided with a gun and check-operate controlling means constructed according to this invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical section ofv the check-controlled mechanism by which the cartridges are delivered to the customer and by which the gun is released to a permit of its being fired. Fig. 3 is a detail in elevation showing the mechanism for delivering the cartridges to the cartridge chute in =acertain definite upright position. This anism as viewed from' view shows such mec the right of Fig. 2. .Fig. 4 is a detail showcle and which moves under the weight of a coin resting in the ocket thereof and releases the operating lever. Fig. 6 is a top plan of the same. pawlwhich prevents the operation of the operating lever until such pawl hasbeen-released through the movement of the arm shown in Fig. 5 under the action of a coin. Fig. 8- is an elevation of the same viewed from the right of Fig. 7. Fig. 9 is a'section through the pawls and 81 showing their relation to each other. .Fig. 10 is a section on the line 1010 of Fig. 2 and showing the relative arrangement of the conveyor beltwith respect to the Walls of the cartridge hopper. Fig. 11 is a top plan partly broken away and artly in section of thelocking and firing mec'lianism of the un. Fig. 12. is a longitudinal section on t e line 1 111 of Fig. 1 1 and showing the hammer in its locked position. with the hammer cocked. Fig. 14 is a detail of the mechanism which sets the member which controls the operation of the hammer. Fig. 15 is a section on the line 14'14 of Fig. 12.

In the construction shown inthe draw'in s, the gallery is in the form of a'horizontaly disposed tubular range 1, mounted upon suitable supports 5, and having a hinged l1d 6 arranged for closing the front end. The 11d 6 is adaptedvto swing down as in Jlig. 1 when Fig. 7 is a detail of the Fig. 13 is a corresponding view nected bya cord passing over suitably arranged pulleys and extending to--the target for operating the mechanism which effaces the marks of the shot from the target. Such mechanism is in common use in shooting galleries and is therefore not shown or described herein. I

A rifle 13 is mounted within the range at its front end and normally rests loosely upon a support 15. At the front end of the range and at one side of said support is located a check-controlled cartridge delivery device 16 which is connected with the gun by means of a flexible tube 17, the pn ose of which'will be hereinafter describe The tube 17' passes loosely upward through the support 15 and-is provided with a shoulder- 18 to limit the lifting of the gun 13'above the support.

loo

The flexible tube 17 is incased in a suitable housin '19 below the fioor of therange.

The hammer 20 of the gun is pivotally mounted at 21 and is norma ly urged by the spring 22 against the firing pin 23. The trigger 24 is pivotally mounted at 25 and has ratchet engagement with the hammer 20 as in a well known form of rifle. The spring of the trigger is indicated .at 26.

The locking member 27 is mounted on a shaft 28 in the stock of the gun and is of cres cent-shape having a concave surface 29 at one side arranged to fit the convex surface 30 of the hammer. The surface 30-is arranged concentrically of the pivot 21. The shaft'28 has a sector 31 rigidly mounted-on the art which projects beyond'the bearing 32. his sector is provided with a stud 33 ,to which a toggle spring 34 is connected. An air cylinder 35 is mounted on the-stock of the gun with its axis in the plane of the sector 31. The cylinder has a plun er 36 with arod 37 bearing against the shou der 38 of the sector as seen in Figs. 11 and 14. The rod 37 is adapted, when forced toward the left of Figs. 11 and 14, to rock the sector 31 until the stud 33 asses the strai ht line between the axis of t e shaft 28 am. the opposite end of the spring 34. The oscillation of the sector 31' is limited in both directions, as will-herein after ap ear, and the toggle spring 34 is so arran' e as to urge the sector toward either of its imits of movement after it has passed theposition midway between such limits. Now when the rod 37 has pushed the sector beyond its middle position, the spring 38 will ment.

continue therotation of the sector until it reaches the corresponding limit of its move- The member 27 rocks with the sector 31 and this rockin 'movement is limited by a stop shoulder 40 s own in Fig. 12. The full linesin Fig. 12 show the member 27 turned to the position in which it locks the hammer 20 against movement. The corner 41 ofthe as the surface 30' has passed-clearof the sur-' member 27 has passed below the shoulder 42 of the hammer, thus effectually preventing the cocking of the hammer; When the member 27 is turned until the corner 43 engages the stop 40, then the hammer is free to be cooked. The act of cooking the hammer causes the should? 42 to swing the member 27 so that the corner 415i said member rides 'on the surface 30 of the hammer as in Fig. 13. In this 1position the stud 33 is above the shaft- 34 normally urges the 28 so t atthe sprin member '27 tower its locking position. When the gun is fired the hammer assumes the osition shown in Fig. 12, and thg spring 34 t rowsthe member 27 to the position shownby full lines in said Fig. 12, as soon face 29. i g

The 0 eration of the gun lock is as follows: When t e air is blown through the flexible tube 17 into the cylinder 35,-th'e piston 36 slotted so as to shifts, causing the rod 37 to rock the member 27 into the osition shown by dotted lines in Fig. 12. T is releases the hammer and permits it to be cocked. The act of cocking the gun swings the member 27 to the position shown in Fig. 13. As soon as the gun is fired, the corner 41 of the member 27 passes under the shoulder 42 and locks the gun against further operation.

In the construction shown in the draw ings', the check-controlled mechanism comrises a casing 16 within which is located a Bellows 44 for forcingair through the tube 17, a hopper 45 for storing a quantity of cartridges, together with mechanism for delivering cartridges one at a time in return for a coin, and for'operating the bellows to re,- lease the hammer. The coin chute is indicated at 46.

The walls of the hopper 45 converge to ward a conveyer belt 47 carried b 'drums 48 and, 49. The portion of the elt which passes the throat of the hopper 45 is surrounded by a trough 50 along which the cartrid es are carried by means of cleats 51 on the elt. The side walls of the trough' 50 are twisted toward one side as they pass around thedrum 49 and form a downwardly inclined chute 52, extending at one side of the belt 47. The bottom of thechute 52 is iprmit the body part of the cartridge to fall t rou h the slot and hang by the head 53 with the ullet end down, as indicated in Fig. 3. A rotating brush 54 geared to the drum 49 serves to agitate the cartridges in the chute 52 and prevents any car- 'tridges from passing out of the chute 52 until they have assumed the proper upright position. A storage chute 55 is disposedin a vertical position below the chute 52 and is inclined toward one side at its upper end. The chute 55' is circular in cross section and of just sufficient diameter to permit the heads 53 of the cartridges to loosely pass through the same. The inclined part 56 of the chute 55 has a gap its lower side connected by an inclined chu e 57 with the hop per 45. .Cartridges falling from the chute 52 1nto the open end of the chute 55 pass the mouth of the chute 57 on account of their momentum. When the chute 55 is filledwith 1 cartridges up to the mouth of the chute 57, then the excess of cartridges will fall through the chute 57 into the hopper 45. This arrangement prevents clogging at the top of the chute 55- and permits the belt 47 to-be driven at a sufiicient rate of speed as to feed an excess of cartrid es and therelii insure that the chute 55 always be fu as there are suflicient cartridges in'the' ma The floor of the hopper 45 is as long 45 81 are provided with abutting shoulders In Fig. 2, the parts are shown in the position whlch the occupy at the instant after the 0 crating ever 59 has been depressed. This liver is pivoted at 60 and is normally urged toward a lifted position by a spring 61. The lever 59 extends throu h a slot 62 in the front of'the casing and sai slot is closed by a slide 63. The lower end of thechute 55 is normally closed by the periphery of the sector 64 which is pivotally mounted at 65. The sector 64 is swung down by a awl 66 carried by the arm 67 which is loose y journaled on the shaft 65 and connected to the lever 59 by a-link 68. The awl 66 engages anotch 69 on the periphery oi the sector and is thrown out of engagement with said -notch by a stop 70 when the lever 59 reaches the position shown in Fig. 2. The pawl 66 is normally urged by gravity into position for engaging the notch 69 and is provided with an inclined surface 7:1 which engages the stop 70 for retracting the pawl 66. The lower corner of the sector 64 is provided with a roller 72 which rides loosely upon the lever 73. The sector 64 is provided with a pocket 74 which is brought into a linement with the chute 55 when the sector is in the position shown in Fig. 2. A

. spring 75 urges the lever 73 upward and causes the sector to swing so as to discharge the cartridge from the pocket 74 into the delivery chute 76.

The lever 73 is fulcrumed at 77 and has an arm connected with the bellows 44 and adapted 'to expand and retract the same through the swinging of the lever. A pawl 78,on the lever 73 engages a ratchet wheel7 9,

; which is rigidly connected with the drum 48 and serves to rotate said drum for driving the 'conveyer belt. v

The movement of the lever 59 is con trolled by a air of pawls 80 and 81. Both of these paw s are loosely mounted upon a spindle 82 and engage a curved rack 83 carried by the'lever 59'. The pawls 80 and whichengage each other for causing one of the pawls to swing through the movement of the other pawl, but at the same time ermitting one ofthe pawls to have a slight movement without affecting the other pawl. This is best shown in Fig. 9 which shows a section through the two pawls. The pawl 80 is provided with a counter-weighted arm 84 which-normally urges said awl into engagement with the rack 83. rigidly connected with the arm 85 and has a counter-poised arm86 which, in the position shown in- ,Fig; 2,jnor mally tends to lift the pawl 81 out of engagement with the rack and to lift the arm 85. I The arm 85 has a pocket 87 at its end for receivinga coin from the coin chute 46. The counter-poise 86 is of suitable mass to be over-balanced when acoin of the roper denomination rests in the ocket 87;.

' his causes the arm 85 to swing own until.

I its normal initial T e pawl 81- is the coin is discharged into the coin-receiving receptacle 88. This movement .of the arm 85 swings the counter-poise 86 to a position on the opposite side of a vertical line through the spindle 82, so that the effect of the counter-poise 86 is then to hold the pawl 81 in engagement with the rack 83. This pawl serves to' prevent the lifting of the arm 59 until it has been depressed to the lower limit of its movement causing the pawl 66to be withdrawn from the notch and thereby releasing the sector 64-so as to discharge a cartridge into the delivery chute 76 when the lever 73 swings up under the action of the I as to insure that t ere is always a cartridgein the chute 55 ready for the next succeeding operation of the machine.

When the lever 59 is depressed to its full limit, as indicated-in Fig. 2, a stop pin 89 on the rack 83 engages the counter-poised arm 84, swinging the pawl into engagement with the rack and returning the arm to osition. between .the paw s 80 and 81 permits the pawl 81 to ride over the teeth of the rack without admitting of the possibility of rocking the counter-poise 86 past the vertical position through a sudden lifting movement of the lever 59 and thus preventing the manipulation of the machine so' as to discharge a second cartridge without'the insertion of a second coin.

Whenthe device is not in service, the lid 6 may be closed and locked by means of a padlock on the sta 1e 90 which extends through a slot 91 on 't e lid. By locking the light apertures 7, the device is entirely cldsed up and can not be tampered with.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: l

1. A shooting gallery comprising. antinclosed range, a gun mounted at one end of said range and having a limited movement therein to permit the same to be aimed, a lock for preventing the firing of the gun, mechan-' ism for delivering cartridges to a customer, and means controlled by said mechanism for releasing said lock to permit the firingof the gun.

2. The. combination of a support, a gun. mounted on said support and having a limited range of movement to permit the'gun, to be'aimed and gun for preventing the firing of the gun, and

pneumatic meansfor releasing said lock, said ock beingada ted to remain released until said gun is fire a support, a gun 3. The combination of The slight play ed, alock mounted on the p v and to automatically relock- I the gun through the act of firing it.

mounted on said support and having a limited range of movement to permit the gun to be aimed and fired, a lock for preventing the firing of the gun, neumatic means for releasing said lock, an a cartridge delivery appa ratus located at a distance from the gun and adapted to operate said pneumatic means.

4. The combination of a gun having a hammer movable into and out of firing position, a rotatable member coacting with said hammer and adapted to be turned into and out of position for preventing a certain movement of said hammer, and pneumatic means adapted to shift said member to permit such certain movement of said hammer. g

5. The'combination of a gun having a hammer movable into and out of firing position, a rotatable member co-acting with said hammer and adapted to be turned into and out of position for preventing a certain movement of said hammer, and pneumatic means adapt ed to shift said member to permit such certain movement of said hammer, said member being ada ted to be set thmugh the movement of t e hammer soas to prevent a succeeding movement thereof.

6. In a gun, the combination of a movable hammer, a member co-acting with said hammer and adapted to be shifted into and out of position for preventing a certain movement of said hammer, a cylinder located in the gun and having a plunger arranged to shift said member so as to permit such certain movement of the hammer, said member and plunger being arranged to return to a certain ini-.

tial position u on the firing of the gun.

7. The com ination ofagun having ahammer, an oscillating member co-acting with said hammer and adapted to be oscillated into and out of position for preventing a certam movement of said hammer, -a spring adapted to hold said member in each of said positions, neumatic means adapted to shift s'aid mem er to its position for permittin such certain movement of the hammer, an means operated through the movement of said hammer for returning said member to its position for preventing'a repetition ofsaid certain movement of the hammer.

8. A shooting gallery, comprising a range,

a gun mounted at one end of said range, a

lock for preventing the firing of said gun, a cartridge delivery apparatus, and mechanism connecting said delivery apparatus and gun lock and adapted to control said look so as to release the same through the operation of said cartridge delivery apparatus.

9. A shooting gallery, comprising a range,

liver cartridges one at a time, mechanism connecting said delivery apparatus and lock andadapted to release the look through each operation .of said delivery apparatus, and

means automatically locking said look aftereach firing operation of said gun.

Signed at Chicago this 5th day of October 1906.

CHARLES E. MORRIS.

Witnesses:

A. L. RHODES, C. MONROE. 

